The Wolves of M'Roark B1 Ch1

The Wolves of M'Roark
Primeval


In a large meadow, a lone stag grazed, oblivious of the danger lurking nearby. At the meadow's edge, which was then overrun with forest and wood, five wolves assessed the situation, as a huge wolf with a pelt black as the evening covering powerful muscles built for running, and around his neck was a tribal collar beholding a spherical moonstone. His yellow eyes narrowed as he  growled, "The three of us shall set the trap. Hiddenheart, Sunfall, you know what to do..."

"Yes, Lord Nightsky," replied the two addressed wolves. Sunfall was a strong she-wolf with goldenrod fur and hazel eyes whereas Hiddenheart was a great silver wolf with eyes of amber. He wore around his neck a collar of leather strung with beads of turquoise and petrified wood and a moonstone of his own, marking him his pack's mage, that along with his two tails. His paws itched with anticipation as he prepared for his and Sunfall's job. They needed this kill in light of coldpelt. The pack was hungry, and Hiddenheart's expecting mate, Rainbow, needed food to keep up her strength. It wasn't long before she'd whelp.
"Milord, might I suggest we make haste," Hiddenheart asked. "I sense heavy snowfall approaching."

"Noted, so let's bring home the cervine!" Nightsky growled.

Nightsky led the other two members of their hunting party along the forest edge as Hiddenheart and Sunfall waited until their alpha and the others were in position. Finally, Hiddenheart nodded to Sunfall.
"Ready?"

"You take the high road, I'll the low," she suggested eagerly.

"Let's do it!"

Both wolves exploded out of the foliage, alerting the stag. It turned towards the forest, but Hiddenheart wasn't letting it get away. A pair of wings spread from his back and he took flight, quickly flying ahead of the stag to bar its way as Sunfall began to catch up. They herded the stag, snapping, snarling at it as they came upon a small ridge. The stag prepared to leap for its life when Nightsky and his other two wolves jumped out from behind the ridge, the alpha lord sinking his fangs into the stag's throat, going for an artery. Sunfall leapt onto the stag's back, biting into the back of the stag's neck, the other two biting and clawing at the haunches and Hiddenheart grabbed a hind leg, bringing their quarry down. Nightsky's jaws finished their work, as hot blood was now staining the snow red. The stag gave one last bray before it died, and the body stopped shaking.

The wolves stepped back to admire their kill and howled in success, feeling pleased with themselves.
"Well done, friends," Nightsky barked. "And quick thinking with your wings, Hiddenheart."

"I hope the other hun'ryt was successful," Sunfall growled. "If not, there won't be enough fresh-kill to go around for the pack."

"I am confident Pinetail's group will not disappoint us," Nightsky assured. "We'd best start dividing the meat, won't be long before the scavengers arrive."

"Agreed, and I need some good meat for Rainbow," Hiddenheart seconded. "She's expecting and may whelp any day now."

"Then you can have first bite, old friend," Nightsky replied.

Hiddenheart smiled in gratitude before he leaned down to tear off a haunch. But the moment before his fangs touched the kill he gasped as a sudden change in the wind brought a whisper to his ears. A whisper telling him to go to Crescent Lake.

He looked in the direction of the lake, the others getting concerned.
"Hiddenheart, what is it?" Sunfall asked.

"I must go to Crescent Lake. Now," Hiddenheart declared. "My lord, I know this is out of the blue, but I felt as though Hallow Pack was whispering to me. I must answer their call."

"I have always trusted your judgment, old friend," Nightsky answered. "If you believe this to be Hallow Pack's will, then it must be so. Go then and investigate, I will personally bring the haunch to Rainbow."

"Thank you, my lord," Hiddenheart said with a bow before he took flight into the gray sky.


For a winged wolf, the trip to Crescent Lake didn't take long. When he arrived, Hiddenheart landed on the penninsula, looking out to the lake, which was now frozen over with crystalline ice.
"Tell me why you summoned me here…" he growled, "tell me what it is I must discover..."

The winds blew again to his ears, whispering in a way that made Hiddenheart shiver. He felt the presence of his ancestors in motion around him as Hallow Pack spoke to him their will.

You have been chosen to take in the savior.

"The savior? I know nothing of any savior in the stories of old," Hiddenheart replied as he started walking along the shore and looking around.

A terrible darkness shall bring great evil in the coming future, an evil that threatens all Wolfkind. This darkness will stop at nothing to destroy all that is good and enslave the realms. The savior must be raised with a parent's love and tutored with a mage's wisdom.

"Me?" Hiddenheart whimpered. "But what is this evil? When is it coming? How can it be stopped?"

Trust in the savior. Teach him what truly matters.

"But who is the savior?" Hiddenheart barked. "I see no one here!"

No sooner had Hiddenheart protested than did he see ahead of him, sitting on a stone and gazing up to the cold gray sky, a wolf pup, barely looked to be about a year old. But there was something about this pup that blew away Hiddenheart. The little scrap of fur had a pelt of dark blue, a black mane and underbelly, his ears and bushy tail tipped black which also banded his legs, and a distinctive moon-shaped mark of pure white glorified his chest. His fur gave off a shine like a distant star, his eyes a silvery-blue and surrounding them were the strangest marks Hiddenheart had ever seen, trailing like shooting stars. Then Hiddenheart whimpered nervously as the pup's eyes glowed and he heard a distant sound like thunder.

For a moment, Hiddenheart feared he was in the presence of a Barkest, a restless ghost, yet he sensed this pup, strange as he was, to be very much alive

He looked up to the gray cloudy sky, which almost at once cleared, revealing the stars and the waxing moon. Hiddenheart stood there, staring up at the cleared sky, transfixed by this unnatural phenomenon when he heard the pup whimpering. He looked and saw him shivering, its shoulders hunched, but he was surprised to see the marks around his eyes were gone.

He hurried over, and gently pulled the pup against him to warm him up when he heard the whispers again.

Raise your new son well.



Nightsky stood upon the Howl Ridge, overlooking his pack. They lived in a thick grove of trees, in a natural bowl in the ground, hiding them from the rest of the Silver Pine Forest. The entrance into their home was a large hollow tree situated between two boulders hidden by a veil of moss, a shallow river ran along one side of the grove, which provided the pack with easy water during warmer weather but was now frozen, and there were lairs dug into the walls of the crater, wolves laid about, mostly together to stay warm. Several cubs yipping as they played under the supervision of a couple omegas, several betas and gammas on patrol along the ridges surrounding them, keeping to the trees. Nightsky stayed on the Howl Ridge, patiently awaiting his friend Hiddenheart. He'd delivered the haunch to Hiddenheart's mate, Rainbow, as he promised but it was starting to get late.  

Sunfall came up behind him, saying, "Perhaps we should send out a search party, Lord Nightsky. I'm starting to worry for Master Hiddenheart."

"I share your concerns, Sunfall," Nighysky replied but keeping his gaze towards the grove entrance.
"But Hiddenheart is a fully-trained mage, he can take care of himself."

"I understand, milo-" Sunfall said but was interrupted by a distant howl. "It's him!"

Nightsky looked up and saw Hiddenheart coming in for a landing. The Alpha Lord let out a howl, alerting the pack to their mage's arrival. The winged wolf landed in the middle of the grove, some wolves closing in to greet him but they all stopped when they saw what he carried in his paws.
Nightsky approached, the pack parting in his wake so he could see.
"Hiddenheart, what have you...?"

Hiddenheart folded his wings to reveal the pup, stunning Nightsky as he looked to the mage for an explanation.
"Lord Nightsky, I sensed this pup in distress and rescued him from the cold. I was sure to search for any wolves nearby that could have been his parents but I didn't so much as find a scent. I'm not sure where this pup came from or if he even has any family left, but I simply could not turn tail and leave him to die. So I brought him here."

"Hiddenheart, I know you had good intentions, "Nightsky warned, "but you understand, this pup, abandoned or no, is an outsider. I know you well enough that you wish to take him in, but if I permit it you must realize the pup shall be treated as an omega. That is Pack Law."

"I understand too well of the law, Nightsky," Hiddenheart stated, "but I intend this pup to be more than just my new son. I take him on to be my tyrolf learner."

The pack gasped at this declaration by Hiddenheart.
"An outsider as a mage tyrolf?"
"It's unheard of!"
"Surely Lord Nightsky won't allow it!"

"Silence!" Nightsky barked, and almost at once the pack quieted down. "Hiddenheart, this is a bold move on your part. You know the sanctity regarding the position you state for this pup! If it doesn't work you shall be dishonored and I will have no choice but to renounce you as Forest Pack Mage. Do you still intend to take this course of action?"

"Without hesitation," Hiddenheart replied, and Nightsky could see it in those amber eyes that there was no use for even him, the Alpha Lord, to argue.

Nightsky sighed, and said, "Very well, Hiddenheart. The pup is yours. Raise him well."

Then he addressed, "Forest Pack! From this day forth, this pup, outsider he may be, is a member of this pack! In accordance to the law, but taking in consideration that he is now our mage's tyrolf learner, he is to be an Omega in only name but treated as a Gamma. May the spirits of Hallow Pack run with him!"

Nightsky threw his head back and howled, the pack following suit as they welcomed their new pack-brother.


Hiddenheart gingerly took the pup into his mouth by the scruff of his neck and carried him to his lair. Inside, resting was his mate, Rainbow. A beautiful she-wolf whose pelt was silver yet glimmered the colors of her namesake while her eyes reflected a forest green. She laid upon a bed of deer pelts to help keep her warm, a stone bowl contained water and a small glowstone, brightening up the lair to make it easier to see.

Hearing her mate coming, Rainbow opened her eyes and was truly surprised.
"Hiddenheart! Where did you...?"

"I found this little one alone and abandoned near Crescent Lake, dear one," Hiddenheart explained. "Nightsky has given his consent and if you will have him, he shall be our son."

Seeing the little pup whimpering in hunger and cold, Rainbow felt a warmth in her heart that spread quickly through her body.
"Oh yes... I want him."

Hiddenheart gently nudged the pup to his new mother, and the pup snuggled up as Rainbow began to groom him.
"What shall we call him, Hiddenheart?"

"I am not sure," Hiddenheart replied when they heard a small crunch of snow outside the lair. "Silverwind, I know it's you."

A small pup poked his head into the lair. He was about three years old, had a pale silver pelt with barely-visible spots of darker silver on his sides, matching the scruff of a mane on his neck, and his eyes were dark blue as he gazed curiously on the cub.
"What are you doing here, young pup?" Hiddenheart asked in a slightly stern voice but he didn't mind really.

"Sorry, Hiddenheart," whimpered the cub called Silverwind. "I wanted ta' see the new pup."

"Well come in, say hello," invited Rainbow kindly.

Silverwind slowly approached the pup who had just fallen asleep.
"I like his fur."

"I do too," Rainbow agreed.

"He even has a moon on his heart!" Silverwind yipped, noting the mark on the pup's tiny chest.

"Moon... heart..." Hiddenheart mused. "Moonheart... It's beautiful."

"I agree, Moonheart..." Rainbow said as she looked at her new son. Then she looked to Silverwind, saying, "Silverwind, since you gave him his name, that means you have to help us take care of him."

"Huh?" Silverwind whimpered, curiously tilting his head.

"That's right, young one," Hiddenheard seconded with a deep chuckle. "From now on, you're gonna be his big brother."

"Ok!" Silverwind yipped. Then he whispered to the pup, "Hear that, Moonheart? I'm your big brother, and no matter what, I'll always be there for ya!"

Hiddenheart looked warmly at his mate, their new son and his guardian. The only thing that would make it even better was when Rainbow whelped. The mage couldn't possibly ask for anything else. But still, the warnings he had received bothered him, and it pained his heart knowing this pup, wherever he had come from, would be responsible for all wolfkind. Well, if that was truly to be the case, Hiddenheart would raise Moonheart to the very best of his ability, he would make him a warrior, he would make him a mage, he would make him unlike any wolf the world had ever seen.